Enjoy the current installment of "weekend reading for financial planners" – this week's edition kicks off with the news that, with the explosive popularity of the $350B Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses over the past week, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is already seeking a $250B expansion to ensure that the dollars don't run out. In the meantime, the White House is beginning to craft a plan about how to re-open the economy if/when/as the growth rate of the virus slows, while economic experts worry about what it will take for Americans to actually trust that it's safe to go out again (especially if there's a second resurgence of the virus later this year).
Also in the news this week are efforts by the CFP Board leading a coalition of advisor membership associations asking Congress to reinstate the tax deduction for advisory fees that was eliminated in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (as more and more Americans are seeking out financial advice regarding their current situation), S&P deciding to delay rebalancing of the S&P 500 index amidst the recent extreme market volatility (and raising questions about what it really means to be a "passive index"), and the IRS officially expanding the delayed July 15th tax filing date to include more related deadlines from estimated taxes to estate tax returns.
From there, we have several articles on how to leverage video chat tools as we're increasingly relegated to using them to stay connected to clients, prospects, and potential referrers, including how to improve video engagement with clients and prospects, how to conduct 'virtual networking' meetings, and how to leverage your smartphone to record and share high-quality video.
We wrap up with three interesting articles, all around the theme of how the internet has become our lifeline (and how remarkably well it is holding up as we depend on it); the first looks at how the very structure of the internet itself was actually built to be stable (a relic of its Cold-War-era respite that was trying to preemptively protect against global disasters); a deep dive into the data of what Americans are actually doing and using online and how our internet habits are shifting; and an exploration of how the coronavirus pandemic may actually end out stimulating a fresh wave of further investments into internet infrastructure that will just further build our internet capabilities for the decade to come!
Enjoy the 'light' reading!